


I Believe

by Baroness_of_Bara



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Akechi Goro Needs a Hug, Akechi Goro Redemption, Apologies, Cockblock Morgana, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dating, Developing Relationship, Dream Sex, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Futaba ships it, Hallucinations, He's not gonna let Akechi just work him over, Idiots in Love, M/M, Maruki is a precious taxi boi, POWER Bottom Akira Kurusu, Post-Canon, Post-Persona 5: The Royal, Reunions, Rival Relationship, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Roommates, Rough Sex, Sumire is supportive, Time Skips, Top Akechi Goro, Touch-Starved, bottom akira kurusu, its like enemies to friends to lovers but gangster, lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:13:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28865331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_of_Bara/pseuds/Baroness_of_Bara
Summary: Akira hasn't been the quite same in the years since he took back reality. He waits with bated breath for the return of a friend— no...a rival.Somewhere in his heart, he always felt it...like this reality still harbored 'him.'He just wasn't expecting to find him here, of all places.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	I Believe

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I finshed Royal and it destroyed my asshole, so I'm gonna write Akechi/Joker bc I lov them,,,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reunion between the fool and his justice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akechi: what do you normally do when I'm gone?  
> Akira: ...wait for you to come back—

Akira sighed gently, his lashes fluttering a bit as he stared out the window of his apartment.

Rain pattered against the glass...a soft, droning cacophony at the moment, so buried in his thoughts as he was.

Time really did fly, didn't it?

Three years...it felt so damn long ago, really. Three years since he'd moved back home. Since the Phantom Thieves had disbanded. Since they'd all returned to the true world, free from that ideal and manufactured reality.

_Since Akechi had..._

The former thief looked despondently out the window, silver eyes hollowing a bit. Even after so long, he still couldn't get him off his mind. Goro found himself crossing the man's thoughts without fail, at least once a week. 

Akira refused to accept that part about this reality. As much as he would acknowledge everything else...Akechi _couldn't_ be gone. They'd sworn to battle again...Akechi had thrown down the gauntlet. They were destined to meet again. True, the Metaverse was gone now. He couldn't summon Satanael, or Areséne, or any of his other Personas. But a battle didn't have to be played out with force and bloodshed.

_'Maybe chess? Or possibly shogi...? Eh, I dunno if he'd know how to play that though...'_

There was a soft meow as Morgana jumped up onto the windowsill, and purred.

 _"Hey!_ You've been spacing out for a while! I'm hungry, y'know...it's almost nighttime!"

The brunette raised a brow, before snorting.

"Yeah...be there in a sec..."

Morgana cocked his head, those crystal blue eyes staring at his friend and caretaker with scrutiny.

"You're...thinking about him again, huh." The cat's ears pinned down softly. "Akechi."

Akira's chest felt heavy like lead, but he nodded slowly. "Uh-huh..."

Morgana sighed, looking off to the side in a manner that seemed almost...bashful. "Akira...I...I know you miss him, but—"

"But _what_?" He returned immediately, tone deadpan and unengaged. "...I don't wanna talk about this with you again, Morgana."

The cat stood to all four paws, pouting as best as a cat could.

"No, listen Akira. You need to move on. This isn't...healthy, you know? Holding onto a dead person this hard, for so long—"

Akira shook his head. " _He isn't dead_."

"' _No exceptions_.' That's what Lady Lavenza said."

"She's wrong."

"Joker."

_"Mona."_

The cat shook his head in frustration.

"Ugh, fine! But sooner or later you'll need to let this go and accept reality. We all had to do it...and you'll have to as well. That's what all of _us...Akechi_ included, fought for."

The man didn't respond, indicating that he was dropping the conversation.

Morgana looked down, before humming, finally dropping the subject as well.

"...It's coming down hard today. Kinda peaceful. Feel bad for anyone out there in this weather, though! They'd get soaked to the bone..."

Akira sighed, drawing a finger across the window. 

Rain reminded him of Akechi too. Nights at the jazz bar in Kichijoji. Sipping non-alcoholic cocktails and chatting together, listening to the singer's smooth voice carry throughout the club...

_People come and they go..._

**_"You know, I always wondered...how did you end up choosing your first target like you did...? Kamoshida, was it...?"_ **

_Some people may stay with you though..._

_I am all alone tonight_

_and I kept on_ _asking myself questions..._

**_"Besides him being a prick and trying to expel us, you mean...?"_ **

_Conceited I was at times..._

_I never really doubted myself._

_But tonight got me thinking about it all_

_if I am the fool or what not..._

**_A laugh..._ **

_**"Hmm, I suppose. You were in hot water as it is...the whole world seemed turned against you, and yet you refused to lay down and accept what laid in store for you. It's rather fascinating to me."** _

_I do not_ _regret with my choices_

_I'm rather proud_

_Ooh, yet I know I won't change_ _anything..._

**_"...Suzui, mostly. What he did to her...we all decided that it didn't matter what happened to him, we had to make him confess his crimes and steal away his heart. He'd hurt us all but...I think she was the main reason."_ **

_Because I can only be me so_

_How can I be so sure?_

**_"Hmmph...risking everything all for your own sense of justice and a girl you yourself barely even knew. I can't fathom it, honestly..."_ **

_At a crossroads I'm afraid too..._

_But I can't let fear get the best of me._

_Someone once said 'burn my dread', babe..._

_**"Can't fathom it...? What do you mean...?"** _

_Who knows what tomorrow holds?_

_Just wanna live my life the way I want..._

**_"...your empathy. Your...compassion. I don't understand how someone like you can want to fight for others in a rotten world like this. I can't even begin to comprehend. It's almost saddening, really. Your kindness is far more intimidating than your prowess, occasionally."_ **

_What fills up my soul is passionate_

_music that makes me want to sing..._

**_Akira cocked his head and reached a hand across the table to rest it near Goro's. Close...but not touching. He knew that Akechi loathed being suddenly touched, without warning._ **

_My story will be starring me, just like yours_

_Ooh ooh..._

**_"...I think you're kind in your own way. Otherwise you wouldn't even bother coming out with me like this...or popping in at Leblanc to visit me when you know I don't have plans. Maybe you're a 'ruthless sort of person' but...you've got more to you than that."_ **

_Who knows when will it end...?_

_**"..."** _

_What matters most is how you bring joy to life, so..._

_**"Hmmph."** _

_A series of knocks sounded at the door downstairs, and Akira perked up, released from his almost trancelike state._

"Hm...?"

Morgana cocked his head. "Who could be knocking this time of day? I don't remember you mentioning any of the others coming over..."

Akira stood to his feet and stretched briefly, before plodding from his room and down the stairs, hand trailing the banister to the end.

He racked his brain to think on if there were any plans he had that he'd forgotten? Ryuji _had_ said that he planned to visit sometime this month...but he might be remembering that incorrectly.

The brunette soon touched down on the bamboo mat at the entrance to his home, and hummed softly. He _almost_ opened the door instantly...before thinking better of it.

"Hello...? Who's out there...?"

There was a pause...before a voice responded.

_"Oh, thank god, someone's awake. I need a bit of help. I'd like to use your phone, i-if that's alright...?"_

Akira blinked, slowly, processing the muffled, masculine voice he heard. The light and airy tone was _painfully_ familiar, to him, and he briefly wondered if Morgana was right: this wasn't healthy.

Because he could have sworn he heard the voice of Goro Akechi just now.

He shook his head. That couldn't be possible. Akechi...

He slowly unlocked the door and opened it...and once it was fully open, the breath seemed to flee Akira's lungs in one swift moment.

"...you... _y-you're_..."

The man standing on his porch, soaked from the rain and wide eyed, had lips parted as if to speak, before closing them once more.

The world began to blur around the edges, and Akira didn't even realize he was crying until the other man spoke.

"Hm. Well that...wasn't really the reaction I had pictured ..." Goro Akechi responded to the other's tears, holding his upper arm in a way that could've been interpreted as either bashful or uncomfortable.

_"You're...y-you're...h-here. You're really here...?"_

Akira's voice was barely about a whisper, and so sincerely awed and wonderstruck that it _hurt._

"Akira...? Who is it? You—"

Morgana seemed almost as stunned as his companion, sitting down and staring with wide blue eyes, a mewl of surprise leaving the feline. _"Akechi...? You're...but Lady Lavenza said—"_

The former detective chuckled somberly. "'Well, we musn't take everything said to us as gospel, I suppose..."

He looked ...just a bit different. Akira had always though Goro had lovely hair. Long, wavy, and silken strands the color of dark caramel that framed his rival's face so very well. They'd been tied back with a white ribbon, forming a slightly messy ponytail. He'd grown a few centimeters as well...their heights were still roughly the same.

Some things stayed the same though. The beginnings of stubble lined Akira's jaw...much different from Goro. The former 'detective prince' still had that softer, almost androgyne facial structure, with not a speck of hair to be seen...either due to personal preference or genetic disposition.

And Goro still looked as willowy as ever, unlike Akira, with his slightly broader shoulders and more athletic build. All that training he did outside of Metaverse operations, and even after the collapse of the false reality, had paid him back in dividends. Akira could confidently say he had at least 15 kilos on the other.

But the most startling contrast between the Goro he hadn't seen in three years, and the one that now stood before him, was those eyes.

Those eyes colored like drying blood, once containing a significant amount of ruthless cunning and contempt for the world, now formed a sly but ultimately more placid stare.

Clearly, the other had mellowed out—

Goro scoffed, lips curling into a slight sneer. "...Oh _honestly_...are you going to let me in, or are you going to keep crying while I catch _pneumonia_ on your doorstep, you fool?"

—or perhaps not. At least, not as much as Akira thought.

_"R-Right...I'm uhm...s-sorry..."_

He stood aside and gestured for Goro to come in. The drenched man did so gladly, shivering slightly from the chill despite the overcoat he wore.

Akira closed the door behind him, a million thoughts rushing through his head. 

One of them being how badly he wanted to drag Akechi into his arms and practically crush him into a hug. But of course he wouldn't. Not without explicit permission. 

"Cozy place you have here..." Goro spoke up, appraising his surroundings. "Certainly a step up from that dingy attic, hm?"

The other man managed a weak laugh. "Y...Yeah. W-We ended up collecting so much yen from Mementos and Palaces...we split it all evenly before we parted ways, and I still had enough to buy this place."

1.5 million yen went a rather long way when you barely spent it on anything anymore...

Goro tittered at that. "Is that so...? Shame I wasn't there to partake...a money boost would've been helpful these past few years..."

Akira's chest ached. " _...we would've split some with you too_. You may not have been official but..."

There was a period of silence as the former phantom thief trailed off.

Then, he spoke again. " _H-How...how is this happening?_ Lavenza...she said there were no exceptions, and Maruki..."

He held his head in his hands, stomach fluttering and eyes slamming shut. " _Did you never die to begin with?_ In Shido's palace, did you survive and you just didn't remember? Is this some other being, o-or some _person,_ causing trouble again!? I—"

_A slim finger laid against his lips._

His eyes snapped open, and was greeted with Goro fixing him with an unreadable expression. Then, he gave a heartstopping, amused little smirk, brow raised.

Akira felt his knees weaken a little.

"It's been barely a minute, and I'm soaking wet, in case you forgot. Mind if we both take a moment to _breathe_ before you proceed to stuff a bunch of conjecture and nonsense down my throat, _Joker?"_

Akira felt his face flush, before he slowly nodded. Goro looked satisfied and pulled his finger away, before looking down to see Morgana, who gazed at him with a cattish suspicion.

"Oh, look...you're still here. I assumed the collapse of the Metaverse would end up erasing you..."

The cat huffed and turned his nose up. "Please...just who do you think I am? Sure my Metaverse former self was erased, but I'm still alive and kicking!"

Akechi's eyes rolled. "As arrogant as ever..."

He shouldered off his coat, revealing a very simple turtleneck.

The coat was tossed to the side on a nearby couch, while the man's shoes were also summarily removed and set beside the door.

"Hm...polite of you."

Goro snickered. "I am the picture of cordiality, Kurusu-kun. Or...well...it's _Kurusu-san_ now, isn't it? You've grown as much as I have..."

The other man frowned softly.

"Goro... _you don't have to be so formal_."

Akechi froze up a little, before relaxing once more and chuckling.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, hm? Now...I'm going to go out on a limb and say you make coffee here. Seems odd you wouldn't. Mind making us both a cup? I'll answer all your questions... just would like something warm in my system."

Akira huffed gently. Fair enough.

* * *

Goro blew on his cup softly, and Akira couldn't help but stare at how the other man's lips pursed. Goro took a light sip and hummed, before setting his cup down.

"So...what's your first question, hm?"

The man snapped out of his slight trance, a tad dazed looking, but thankfully Morgana was there to pick up the slack.

"Well, _first_ of all...how are you here...? Maruki is the one who...caused your fate to change. And when we destroyed that false reality, Lady Lavenza and Master Igor were pretty firm that there were no exceptions! So how can you be alive...?"

Akechi hummed softly. "Mm...well I believe the crux of this relies on one simple matter: I didn't die. Oh, I got very close to it, sure. But I didn't."

Akira frowned. "But...that day. Futaba couldn't sense you anymore..."

The other man took a sip of his coffee, before pulling back and smiling pleasantly. It almost reminded Akira of the days before Akechi's mask slipped off. The facade of the demure, soft spoken 'Detective Prince' that the other showed to the world. Only this time around, it read as far more sincere.

"Delicious as always, Kurusu-kun. Now, to address _that_...though you all relied on her so much, Futaba-chan isn't any more all knowing and all seeing than Dr. Maruki was. She thought she couldn't sense me, but I was very much there. Further away, yes...but there..."

Morgana gave his ear a scratch, and Akira was certain that if the cat could frown, he would.

"How...?"

The other man smirked softly. "Loki has a special ability, as you must recall. The ability to drive others wild and frenzied... _psychotic_. But Robin Hood is my Persona just as much as he was. It seems my Personas having secondary abilities is just a trait of my 'Wild Card'..." 

He placed a hand to his chest, frowning. "I don't know how exactly, and I never thought to ask him, but _something_ he did helped me escape the engine room. The escape from the Palace itself wasn't easy though...I practically had to drag myself to the exit, and Shido apparently considered me as much a threat as all of you. The shadows were searching for me. I almost died so many times over..."

Goro's gaze was unfocused. " _Even when I left the palace, I had to lay low for a few days._ _Quite_ the traumatic experience, I have to say. Wracked with pain, physical and mental, staring at the ceiling of a dingy motel...seeing things. Hearing things, that I knew weren't real."

The man huffed. "Maruki didn't have the full picture. All the power of his persona couldn't grant him omniscience, after all. He assumed the worst, but all he actually did was make it so I recovered far faster...just in time to conveniently 'turn myself in' , and then be released into his little sandbox. Even so, I had a feeling something was wrong...and I assumed later that I hadn't survived. But...I had. I'd just...repressed that harrowing escape..."

Akira was floored. All this time, thinking Akechi had been killed...it was all just an assumption, born of Maruki's actualization. 

Akechi was alive.

_Goro was alive._

Morgana's eyes narrowed. "But...if that's the case, why didn't you try finding Akira sooner?"

Goro snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm _sorry._ I was a tad too busy having a damned _existential crisis_ to worry about things like that. After all, I had thought I was dead. Then I had to recall memories that I wasn't even sure were _true._ I was frightened that we had in fact failed to stop Maruki for quite a few weeks. And once I thought to track you down...I found you'd went back home."

He chuckled. "Sakura-san was _not_ happy to see me when I showed up at Leblanc looking for you. I thought he was going to whack me with a broom for a few moments. Which told me that our resolve had paid off, since he had no reasons to be incensed with me in that false reality."

That made the other man laugh, the mental imagery quite comical in his head. Sojiro whacking Akechi upside the head with that ratty old broom...

"In the end I figured you had a lot on your plate without a dead man showing up to meet your parents, so..."

"So...? Did you just... give up on me then, Akechi...?"

Goro snorted. "Well, I suppose when you put it like _that,_ it sounds rather bad—"

" _I...I missed you..."_ Akira murmured, trembling.

The other man trailed off, dark red eyes widening.

"I...what—"

Akira stood up, coffee forgotten.

"I _missed_ you, Goro! Do you...d-do you even know how that _feels_...? To have someone you thought was dead show up on your doorstep so casually...!?" His hands slammed down onto the table, and Morgana jumped. "S-Stop acting so _nonchalant_ , damn you!"

Akechi seemed taken aback, eyes still blown wide and cheeks rosy, 

_"I...didn't think you cared that much..."_ He mumbled.

"Of _**course** I did, I-"_

Akira trailed off.

"... _you're..._ my rival. I still have your glove, remember...?"

That made Goro snort, his cheeks rosying further. "You actually _kept that_...? God, I was such a drama queen..."

"Yeah...but I agreed to it."

"You've agreed to questionable things before, that doesn't mean a whole lot."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "I could same the same about you, you know."

Goro only snorted, before sighing and sipping his coffee, then giving Akira a somewhat...bashful look. A rare expression to see on the other's face, to be sure.

"Have you...really missed me all this time? I would've thought not having to be around the person who tried to shoot you in the head would have been a little relieving..."

Akira snorted. "I forgave you for that after Shido's palace..."

That made Akechi's attention snap almost violently to Akira. "What...? _I...why?"_

The forner phantom thief could only chuckle. Even three years later, the concept of empathy eluded Akechi, it seemed.

"I...saw a little of me in you. Someone dragged around by the world's cruelty. We just responded to it differently, I guess. I was upset about what you did...or well, _tried_ to do to me. But I realized that...I-I don't know. That it was better to forgive and move on."

He scratched his head, hand riffling through messy black locks. "The memories get fuzzy because of all the stuff Dr. Maruki pulled, but...I remember thinking that maybe holding a grudge against a dead guy was definitely not worth it..."

That made Goro snort almost bitterly.

"Hmmph...how foolish. But I suppose it's in your nature. If you'd done the same to me, I wouldn't _rest_ until I'd returned the favor...maybe spat on your corpse for good measure."

Akira chuckled at that. "There's that ruthless Akechi I know..."

Morgana squinted and cocked his head. "...it's nice you two are catching up, but forgive me for interrupting— _how_ did you find Akira, Akechi? Have you been tracking him down...?"

The man gave the cat a sincerely confused, if not vaguely annoyed look. "Tracking him down...? I had no intentions of the sort. This was purely luck I'm afraid...my car broke down a few blocks away. I was knocking on doors looking for someone so I could use their phone to call a tow truck..."

Akira raised a brow. "What about your phone...?"

Akechi actually _flushed,_ looking flustered as anything as he grumbled out before sipping more of his warm beverage.

_"I-In the shop...I dropped it while I was headed off to work and shattered the screen..."_

The other man snorted, earning a sour glare from the former detective, before Akira stood up and began walking away to fetch his cellphone.

"But...sure. I left my phone upstairs. I'll go grab it for you."

Akechi managed a grateful smile. "Thank you, Kurusu-san—"

"Akira."

"Hm?"

The brunette looked over his shoulder at Akechi, a million emotions displayed in his silver gaze.

" _Please just_...call me Akira."

Goro's lips pressed into a tense, firm line...before he sighed and relented.

"...fine. _Thank you, Akira."_

The other man felt his heart flutter a bit, before he smiled, pushed his glasses up on his nose, and headed for the stairs to the loft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira: my gay feelings are coming back full force, how do I handle this  
> Akechi: I already knew I was gay and I'm beginning to panic hELP
> 
> When it comes to the 'Schrodinger's Akechi' issue, I like to assume that Maruki didn't know that Akechi had died or lived anymore than we really did. Therefore Royal's ending can make sense imo? And Akechi repressing trauma makes sense too since he's seven flavors of fucked up when it comes to mental health. PTSD induced amnesia isn't that far fetched on top of that. Plus, I think it makes sense that if Loki can drive people mad, maybe Robin Hood can pull off miraculous escapes just like the character he's based on? Idk, just let me have this, okay—
> 
> See ya'll next chapter, where gay panic kicks into high gear.


End file.
